1.23.2013

I've been a busy bee lately...It seems that as soon as I walk through the door after work, I've got a list of things to do swirling in my head. Today for some reason I found myself grabbing a broom and sweeping the entire house literally within two minutes of walking in the door...I realized halfway through the process that I still had my purse on my shoulder. I opened up the screen door to the back porch and gave it a good sweep too, then I moved the table and chairs out there and made sure I got in to all the nooks and crannies! "Why am I doing this right now when I have pictures to edit, listings to write, earrings to polish, dinner to make, a dog to walk, packages to wrap, and push ups to do?"

Anyway, I grabbed some ice water and sat myself down for a moment of back porch appreciation.

Later a friend stopped by to pick out some birthday earrings...

And then I played "re-arrange" decor in the living room for about half an hour.

A thoroughly enjoyable Tuesday afternoon was had, and I made up an awesome recipe for dinner, that I will definitely be making again. Chickpea, mushroom, quinoa, sweet pepper, and butternut squash "burgers" with cumin yogurt sauce*!!!!! I used one egg, and small palm full of breadcrumbs to help it stick together, and a handful of crumbled feta cheese as well. Oh YES, she was delicious.

*if you're anything like me you appreciate a little kick to your sauce, I sprinkled a few drops of Tapatio in the yogurt sauce just for some extra love.

May all your Tuesdays be as smooth, calm, and generally awesome for no particular reason as mine was for me...

1.21.2013

It was a blustery day at the beach...We met a few friends and their dogs at one of our favorite beaches, and Max went nuts running on the beach, one of his most loved activities. I swear sometimes he gets going so fast it looks like his feet don't even touch the ground! I know I'm officially becoming a local girl when the temperatures dip just a little bit and it's too "cold" to go in the water. It was sunny and beautiful, the wind was whipping, and I had to put my leggings on under my dress to keep my legs warm! I kind of love it when it's like that...Just a whisper of winter in the air, and clear beautiful sunny skies.

We made it home just in time for the golden hour, the perfect time to take some pictures of my latest works.

I battled with the camera, and myself, coming up short in the photo department. I got a handfull of good shots but will have to give it another try after work tomorrow...I LOVE these new creations and can't wait to share them with you, so heres hoping the photo gods are on my side when I try again, and I can post some previews before this batch of adornments hits the shop!

Side note: my brain is so full of ideas, and desires, and dreams for my growing business this year. I want so many things, and feel a bit scattered in figuring out how to go about making them happen...I feel a bit like all I can hear is the static sometimes, and it's getting in the way of making plans and decisions. Do you ever feel so paralyzed by which way to go, or what the right decision is that you just stand still? I'm so afraid of making the "wrong" decision, that I've made no decisions at all in certain departments. I need a plan, a plan to quiet my static and move forward toward all the wonderful things I can see for the future. So far my plan is still forming, and probably will be for some time...

1.13.2013

1.08.2013

I've just returned to my warm and cozy house after a lovely brisk adventure through the neighborhood with Max. There was whipping wind, sideways raindrops that smacked me on my cheeks, and just a whisper of a chill in the air...also the most amazing rainbow I've seen since I moved here. The feeling of wet, cool skin, my hair dripping, and rosy flush cheeks from running around the park, brought back so many memories of much colder dog walks taken back when I lived in Seattle. Just a whisper of that feeling has been with me the past week or so in this crazy weather we've been having. When we were a few blocks away from the house I found a few flowers to pick, something I used to do all the time...I don't know what happened to that habit, but it's time to bring it back!

In jewelry related news, I've got a handfull of lovely ear adornments almost ready to share with you...They're kind of different, and I LOVE them...

I'm off to throw together some dinner with my loot from the farmers market. Did I mention that there's a farmers market twice a week a few blocks from my new job?!!!! I can hit it up on my lunch break, and do some great Chinatown people watching in the process.

Tonight, it's a saute pan full of everything, add some garlic, and make some quinoa on the side.

1.06.2013

We seem to be in the midst of some wonderful winter weather out here...It's been more gray than blue around the island for the past ten days or so, it has been raining/misting/pouring/drizzling/dripping, and SUPER windy, as in 30 mile an hour gusts that rattle the windows and freak out the dog. We had moments of shining sun, and bright blue skies in between moments of gray wetness today. I watched as sheets of small raindrops come down from the side of the mountain in huge gusts, hitting me in the face sideways...and I loved it! I took Max on a long rainy walk this morning, exploring nooks and crannies in the neighborhood, loving the cold on my cheeks and the rain hitting my back. We jumped over mud puddles, he scurried away from leaves blowing in the wind that startled him suddenly, (must be the chihuahua in him ?). Sometimes I talk to him when we're walking, it goes beyond the usual "wait here at the corner and look both ways" silliness that happens usually. Nothing specific really, it could just be how much I love a certain house, or that I noticed a certain plant I like, maybe I remembered something and just wanted to say it out loud, so I ask him to remind me about it later...I love it when I start talking to him, and his tail wags, it always makes me smile. Maybe I'm rambling about the dog because it will be a year that we've had him next week. I'm so totally over the moon with the little guy that it literally hurts my heart sometimes...but in the best way possible.

The past week has been lovely, and I'm feeling especially calm. Not that I'm usually hyper, but that the usual storms that are brewing in me, and most often in my head, seem to have calmed, blown away, or rained them selves out so to speak. I'm not going to delve too deep into it, or get too analytical, instead I'm simply enjoying my days in much appreciation of whatever shift has occurred.

We had a sunrise beach mission on New Years morning. Fresh coffee out of the back of the car, pants, and shoes, and hats, and scarves, and dogs, and friends, and ocean, and sky, and sand, and rock, we greeted the day...(it was also cold, gray and windy, and absolutely wonderful)

I feel like I'm nesting or something, maybe it's the weather. I've been taking pleasure in little re-decorating projects, planting some tiny seedlings we got at the swap meet last weekend, and a few little craft experiments.

I dug out my favorite old shoes to wear in the studio yesterday, my feet were cold and it made me happy to look down at my feet and see them. It's usually so hot here that I don't really wear "shoes" that often, just sandals or nothing at all...These have been with my since '06, I got them in Jerusalem on my first weekend by myself in Israel, and I have so many wonderful memories of that day. Also, I'm a shoe whore, I'm not ashamed to say it.

Sierra Keylin Jewelry

Sierra Keylin Jewelry is built one piece at a time from my home studio in Honolulu. When I'm not making jewelry you'll probably find me at the beach with my dog, hunting down the best avocados on the island, drinking iced coffee, staring at waves, exploring hills and valleys, and taking in as much as I can of this crazy city on a rock in the middle of the ocean.